Victims of Farm Crime

Abstract

The countryside is often imagined to be idyllic and a safe environment, yet ongoing research indicates that this is not always so; the emergence of fear and concern about crime is very impactful on victims of crime. Among the security challenges in farm settings are prevailing concerns about criminal offences and perceptions of deviant behaviour. This chapter considers on-farm crime victimisation and the consequences of such victimisation, drawing on results from the Slovene National Rural Crime Victimisation Survey. Findings reveal that farmers’ perceptions of security problems represent a vulnerability to crime, which means that the individual is not sufficiently capable to protect or defend themselves and their property. In rural areas of Slovenia, property crime is dominant, although there is also significant offending with a personal connotation (such as domestic violence and sexual violence). The chapter is accompanied by a case study of sabotage of farm machinery as a form of rural victimisation.